Manchester City are heading towards the Premier League's winter break on the back of consecutive defeats.
Pep Guardiola's side lost against Tottenham on Sunday in the league, following a 1-0 defeat against rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in midweek - though they did progress to the Carabao Cup final on aggregate.
Two weeks off will come at a welcome time for City, with their Premier League title defence all but over following Liverpool's runaway form this season - with a fixture against West Ham their last before the break.
And the lack of fixtures over the two-week break means a chance for one of their stars to recover - though he won't be available for the clash against the Hammers.
Raheem Sterling had an eventful game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday. His first big moment came after 12 minutes, when his tackle on Dele Alli was awarded a yellow card.
The decision was reviewed by VAR for a possible red card offence, but the decision was taken not to send off the England international.
The 25-year-old was involved with VAR again following Ilkay Gundogan's missed penalty, going down under a challenge from Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.
However, despite the VAR declining to give a penalty, Sterling managed to avoid a yellow card for diving.
And with time running out in the 2-0 defeat, Sterling was forced to limp off with a hamstring problem.
The injury does not look to be as bad as first feared, with the winger undergoing tests on Monday at City's training ground.
However, the Sun report that Sterling is still expected to be out for "two or three weeks", meaning he will not be back in time to face West Ham.
The current Premier League champions have important games on the horizon against Leicester City, and an all-important fixture against Real Madrid in the Champions League - with Sterling facing a race to get back in time.
